The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy

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The Dictionary of Cultural Literacytm What Every American Needs to Know
Cultural Literacy was one of the most talked-about books — and ideas — of the past decade. It showed us that com-munication — and thinking — depends on our knowledge of the common stock of people, places, sayings, happenings, and ideas that all truly literate Ameri-cans know and recognize. A national best-seller, Cultural Literacy included a controversial preliminary list of "What Literate Americans Know." Across the nation, readers matched their own infor-mation banks against this new standard and all too often found themselves wanting — and wondering.
The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy provides the answers. This comprehen-sive reference guide to our cultural heritage defines the fundamental infor-mation we all should share.
• Twenty-three sections, each alpha-betically arranged, address every major category of knowledge.
• Within each section, hundreds of individual entries discuss ideas,... Tovább

Fülszöveg

FPT>$n.c!S
The Dictionary of Cultural Literacytm What Every American Needs to Know
Cultural Literacy was one of the most talked-about books — and ideas — of the past decade. It showed us that com-munication — and thinking — depends on our knowledge of the common stock of people, places, sayings, happenings, and ideas that all truly literate Ameri-cans know and recognize. A national best-seller, Cultural Literacy included a controversial preliminary list of "What Literate Americans Know." Across the nation, readers matched their own infor-mation banks against this new standard and all too often found themselves wanting — and wondering.
The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy provides the answers. This comprehen-sive reference guide to our cultural heritage defines the fundamental infor-mation we all should share.
• Twenty-three sections, each alpha-betically arranged, address every major category of knowledge.
• Within each section, hundreds of individual entries discuss ideas, events, and individuals, explaining their significance in our culture' and piacing them firmly in context.
• More than 250 maps, charts, and illustrations amplify the fascinat-ing text.
• A complete index makes this book a powerful reference tool.
More than a book for teachers, this book belongs in every home in America.
E. D. Hirsch, Jr., is William R. Kenan Professor of English at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, and the author of Cultural Literacy. Dr. Hirsch is a mem-ber of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Foundation of Cultural Literacy project, and has been a senior fellow of the National Endow-ment for the Humanities.
Joseph F. Kett is chairman of the / Department of History at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, and the author of The Formation of the American Medical Profession 1780-1860 and Rites ofPassage: Adolescence in America: 1790-Present.
James Trefil is Clarence J. Robinson Professor of Physics at George Mason University. Widely published in both Professional and popular periodicals, Dr. Trefils most recent books are Medi-tations at Sunset and Scientist at the Seashore, published by Charles Scribner's Sons, and Space Time Infin-ity, published by Smithsonian Press. He contributed an essay and the science word listto Cultural Literacy. Vissza